Tulip Perspective

The perspective the photographer takes often determines the impact of the shot. The easiest perspective is to comfortably shoot down on the flower while standing. I was looking for something different so I laid down on the ground and shot up at the tulip. Also I used Super Macro mode on the Fuji X10 at a 2.8 aperture with the program called Pro-Focus. Fuji created this program for portraiture to allow the background to go soft, mimicking a 105mm portrait lens. I tried it on this Macro shot and am happy with the results. The stem- flower junction is sharp and everything else goes soft. Note the high key light effect on the petal tips. Enjoy, Jeff

Tulip in the Rain

Those photographers who stay indoors during rain are really missing an opportunity for outdoor image making. There are plastic bags and designed waterproof camera covers to protect your equipment as well as rain gear for you. I took this image today in Albany's Washington Park during moderate rainfall. The technique used for this was a DSLR Maxxum 7D with a Minolta 2.8 70-200 lens, ISO 800, F2.8, and Tv of 1/300 sec. Shot in RAW/JPEG with WB set to Cloudy +1.

There are many ways to shoot flowers and unless you are creative, seeking great light (thus going out today) and experiment with composition, depth of field, and so forth, you risk your flower photos looking like those of everyone else. To get this narrow DOF, a SLR is required. Compact Point and Shoot cameras can't accomplish this. I chose f2.8 for a shallow depth of field to throw the competing leaf background out of focus. The image was "developed" in Topaz Adjust to create a little more contrast and definition. Enjoy, Jeff